Migrant caravan is major concern for attendees of Trump-Cruz rally

As the 2018 midterms shifted to the final two weeks of campaigning, President Donald Trump is throwing his support to Texas Senator Ted Cruz. During the 2016 primaries, Trump mocked Cruz as "Lyin' Ted," but now has changed his tune. (Oct. 22)
AP

AUSTIN – Blocks away from the Toyota Center in downtown Houston, hours before President Donald Trump was scheduled to speak at a rally for Sen. Ted Cruz, Lauren Figaro, Steven Isenhour and David Weaver were locked in a heated argument.

By then, Figaro – who supports Cruz's Democratic challenger Beto O'Rourke – had been at the rally for hours. As she walked through the growing crowds on the sidewalks outside of the convention center, she carried a nondescript sign made with black letters scrawled on a piece of white cardboard.

"Families seeking asylum aren't illegal," it read.

Isenhour and Weaver made a beeline for Figaro when they saw her sign.

Isenhour, who had driven in from Boerne for the rally, wore a red "Make America Great Again" hat, while Weaver, from Abilene, wore a shirt with a more forward-looking message – "Trump 2020: The sequel."

"Constitutionally, our president had the duty to defend our borders from invasions," Isenhour said to Figaro, as Weaver nodded. "We're getting overrun and our system along the border is starting to get overrun to where the people being charged to do this, the border patrol, can't handle it all."

Figaro cut in.

"I feel differently, as you can imagine," she said.

"I think we need to send resources to the border, but I don't think that we should call this an invasion — it's not an invasion," she continued, adding that sending military forces to the border could incite violence.

The group continued to debate, moving from questions about how the caravan should be received to whether there needs to be a wall on the country's southernmost border (Weaver: "Yes." Figaro:"No." Isenhour: "Indifferent.").

But concern over the incoming caravan was at the front of minds for many of the attendees at Monday's rally.

Trump has been vocal on the subject, making threats to dissuade the migrants from continuing their journey and making unsubstantiated claims that Democrats are behind the movement.

“I think this could be a blessing in disguise because it shows how bad our laws are,” he said in an interview with USA Today. “The Democrats are responsible for that.”

Officials with the United Nations said there may be as many as 7,000 migrants making their way from Honduras to the United States. The group entered Tapachula, Mexico on Monday.

But Trump supporters gathered outside Monday's event echoed the President's comments, voicing concern that the group was heading toward the country as part of a political maneuver.

Sharon Alford, an insurance salesperson who said she had been at the rally since 4:30 a.m., said she was positive the group was not motivated by a desire to seek asylum in the United States.

"This is a manufactured thing," she said, sitting on a traffic divider outside of the arena on Monday night. "There is no way in hell that many people can organize at this time in the campaign and come here. Somebody is paying for it. You're going to tell me that many people spontaneously got together and decided to walk here? Oh please."

For O'Rourke supporters gathered in protest at Monday's rally, the issue was also generating concern.

David Shiver, a 59-year-old retired computer engineer, and his 31-year-old daughter, Jodi Shiver, walked to the rally on Monday night to scope out the crowd gathered outside. They had attended an O'Rourke event in Houston earlier that morning.

For David Shiver, who identifies as an Independent, watching how politicians react to issues like the migrant caravan is an important part of evaluating their character.

"The first reaction you see in all of (Republican's) commercials is how proud they are of putting people in jail to pander to fear," Shiver said, adding that more decisions should be made with people's humanity in mind.

"It's just not fair and it's not right," he added.

When asked how the migrants arriving at the border should be greeted, Democrat Ira Dember lowered his anti-Trump sign to think before answering.